Photo credit: justglasssite.com

Okay so I’ve mentioned this story to many people, but I feel the need to get it down on “paper.” This analogy came about during a meeting with a colleague who always inspires me, and someone whom I respect (thanks, Dawn!). I’ve continued to pass along this story and it seems to help others think differently…

So you wake up in the morning and [hopefully] you have a glass full of energy. You carry this glass with you all day and as you exert energy, the glass starts to empty. By the end of the day, you should be happily exhausted with a completely empty glass.

The catch is that you only have the amount of energy in the glass and you, as the owner of your energy, have to decide the best way to empty your glass as you go about your day. Sounds simple, right?

Well think about everything you encounter through an average day – the ups, downs, highs and lows – and where you exert your energy. Are you spending your energy on the person who makes you angry and fighting over some particular point you’re trying to make? Are you arguing with a spouse or friend? Are you using some of your energy on a high maintenance client who does not respect your work? Are you making calls and attending meetings to grow your business? Are you playing with your children? Think about those questions and evaluate how you’re emptying your glass because it may just put things into a different perspective.

At the end of the day (and the beginning), you are the owner of your energy and you can empty that glass as you choose. The moral? Choose wisely!

There are so many things on our plates, so many places we could be, and so many things we need to do. We make daily choices to determine where we go, what to do and who to see. Once we make those choices, we must own our choices to the fullest.

Example – You have a business meeting or lunch with your dad. Choose. Once you choose, be physically and mentally at the same place. What good are you at a business meeting if your mind keeps thinking about your dad? And how much time are you really spending with your dad if all you can think about is business?

We live by moments, so make each one of them count and be in the moment to live them to the fullest!

Don’t let One..

…but DO let one…
Person make your day
Opportunity prove you are who you want to be
Experience lift you above
Failure make you work harder
Success validate your goals
Comment cheer you up
Rejection fuel your determination

…and be that ONE for someone else.

Photo credit: http://advice.lovedetour.com/drpattyann/setting-realistic-expectations-for-your-relationship.html

In the past month or so, I’ve fielded an unusual spike in disappointing emails – emails about delayed projects, colleagues who are unable to follow through with commitments, and others from people who just generally set an expectation, then fall flat. I am not sure if it’s the time of year, bad karma, or just a string of bad luck, but I must say that I find it tiring and quite confusing.

When I set an expectation, I do everything I can to meet and exceed that expectation. It’s understandable that things come up, but when things come up, most likely the situation can be managed by allocating a little extra time or shifting priorities. Either way, I don’t take expectations lightly and I do what I can to go above and beyond.

Basically, if I set an expectation that I will have a project completed by Friday, I will have it by Friday (if not by Thursday). If I deliver it on Friday, I’ve met the expecation. If I deliver it on Thursday, I’ve exceeded the expectation…and probably shocked the hell out of the recipient. Why? Because (and maybe this is just me, but) we are too often disappointed that we’ve come to expect people to not live up our/their expectations.

Here’s a lesson I learned from a previous employer: Set expectations that you can exceed and you will never get yourself in a bind. Basically, when we had projects, she would tell us to set our own deadline based on our workload and what seemed reasonable. Then she held us 100 percent accountable for that deadline since we set the expectation. Makes a lot of sense.

So the moral of today’s babble? Don’t set expectations you can’t exceed…or at least meet. When you fail to meet expectations, it effects everyone involved (remember that) and they don’t deserve to be disappointed.

Disclaimer: There are always exceptions to the rule so unforeseen or extenuating circumstances are always understood.

The past few days I’ve been thinking a lot about common courtesy and the actions of others. In today’s world of technology and the ability to both stalk and dodge people, I think society is loosing site on the rules of common courtesy. It is too easy to forget to show gratitude and too easy to avoid an uncomfortable situation by hiding behind a computer or letting it go to voicemail. Seriously, let’s just go back to the basic principles of please and thank-you, and embracing human interaction.

Here are some examples I’d like to share:

• When someone calls, answer it…or call them back if you miss it. It isn’t nice to ignore calls or just listen to a voicemail and forget it happened. The same goes for emails. If someone tries to sell you something and you aren’t interested, just tell them you aren’t interested (unless it’s spam and they ask for your personal details for the Royal Bank of Scotland). If it’s a friend and you are in a dispute, call them back and deal with it. It’s called life and it happens.
• If someone goes out of their way for you, thank them. Seriously, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt like my efforts to go above and beyond weren’t acknowledged. I don’t need a skywriter to provide a thank-you note, just a simple thank-you and recognition that I did something beyond what is expected. Trust me, that “thank-you” will go a long way the next time the opportunity to go beyond comes along. Also, don’t take advantage of kindness, instead return the favor.
• If you say you are going to do it, do it. If you weren’t going to do it, then why did you say you were int he first place? In general, if you declare you are going to do something, please do it. If you run into a barrier or experience complications, make that known. Most people are forgiving when they understand the circumstances, but they can’t be understanding if they are uniformed.

Basically, these three actions boil down to using effective communications. It’s about speaking with people, listening to people, and responding when it makes sense. It is also the difference between saying you are going to do something and actually do it. These common courtesy principles are getting lost in the technology shuffle and it is just unacceptable!

What are the right questions? They are the questions that prevent us from wasting our time – either by lack of knowledge, a misunderstanding, or something that should have been uncovered straight away.

For example, if we don’t ask the right questions when creating a website, we get too far into it to turn back. If we turn back to make corrections or changes, we end up wasting time by back tracking, and wasting money on edits that could have been avoided. If we start a project, but forget to ask for the budget, it is difficult to back track and ask, then find out it is much less than we thought after putting ideas in place.

Oh and when we assume – in life and in love – it’s because we never asked any questions and that is a recipe for disaster.

In general, I think life boils down to effective communication in all forms. We need to learn to communicate effectively via email, in-person, through our writing, and through our motions. It takes some time to learn others’ styles and to conform to their communication preferences, but the more aware we are of those styles, the better communicators we will become…

…and the more time we will have and the happier we will be!

I probably shouldn’t have even allowed myself one day to be such a downer, but I really did wake up the next morning and make the conscious decision to make up for lost time and get things accomplished. That day was one of the most productive and I know the fate of the day was determined by my attitude of thinking that it wasn’t just another day, it was a new opportunity.

I think we enjoy the idea of “newness.” It’s a mental fantasy of an untouched beginning and another chance. We like thinking of the possibilities of what we can do in the new year, the new month, and in a new day. But in reality, do we really take advantage of the opportunity and actually do it? Do we accomplish those fantasies and do we take a 180 degree turn and make things better? We should.

I once read a book (after I was fired from a job), and it changed my life. Unfortunately I have no idea what it was called, but I do remember the main point was that our future and accomplishments depend on our attitude – and nothing else. The book pushed that we can’t change a lot of factors, but we can change our attitude. A simple attitude adjustment can help us do what we want to do and accomplish what we want to accomplish.

So when you have a bad day, take it. Then give yourself a new beginning and the best chance to succeed by changing your attitude and truly making it a new day! Note the difference and it will motivate you to do it again.

We challenged ourselves with just that – we will be committed to completing one act of “goodness” each week for 52 weeks and chronicling our journey through Something Creative’s newest project, Something Good. We are making 2011 a year of positives – positive changes, positive contributions, and a positive outlook knowing we can do something good.

So join us in our journey and check out our site, follow us on Twitter and “like” us on Facebook! We will be open to suggestions and would love to get others involved in our challenge!

Here’s to 2011 and the possibilities of making the world a better place

The other day I was about to register for an upcoming run and I thought about how I didn’t want to do it because I “don’t run in the cold.” Then I stopped and thought “why?” I guess I just always told myself I didn’t like running in the cold and I came to believe I was a bad cold-weather runner. Then I tried to think of times I ran in the cold, and I couldn’t come up with any. So why did I think this?

I then thought about numerous runs I decided not to run because I wasn’t sure how I’d perform. I didn’t know if I could finish a run in the cold, didn’t know how fast I’d be, and never brought myself to face the challenge and assumed I couldn’t complete. Why? Because I had a fear of failing and under performing on something that makes me feel confident. Then I thought about how I will never accomplish anything more and I will never conquer a new challenge if I continue to only run what I know I can finish. How could I be happy with participating in the same runs every year and finishing exactly as I knew I could? Being complacent isn’t in my blood when it comes to business, so I should feel the same way about physical challenges.

…So I registered. I am going to run, and I am going to do well. I am going to accomplish something new and conquer an obstacle I’ve never attempted. And what if I fail? I won’t. Failure is not an option.

Think about some of your greatest accomplishments and think about how excited you were to achieve them. Think about how much effort you put into accomplishing the final result and how much emotion played a part in the success.

For me, I think about how excited I get when I present and teach. My presentations and lessons are dripping with passion and enthusiasm. My overarching goal of every interaction is to ensure everyone has their eyes on me (or the slides/presentation/examples) and they seem interested in the material. If I catch eyes wandering or heads tilting, I take the conversation in another direction or use a different approach. Either way, the feedback I always receive is that I was engaging and interesting, and that comes directly from my enthusiasm.

One thing to remember is that it is close to impossible for passionate people to be enthusiastic about things that don’t make sense or don’t solicit their interest. It’s tough to fake enthusiasm and it is obvious to others when it is “being faked,” so don’t do it.

Accomplish goals and ideas using your passion and enthusiasm. Channel what motivates and drives you, and use the momentum to boost your attitude straight up to success!